Hackers steal $351.6m from Bitget wallets

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget revealed that about $351.6 million was stolen when hackers breached part of its wallet system on September 24. The exchange detected unauthorized transfers from some of its hot wallets at 18:31 UTC and activated emergency response protocols. CEO Gracy Chen confirmed that the breach only affected some hot and warm wallets, while cold wallets remained safe.

Bitget froze withdrawals temporarily while deposits and trading continued. The loss was covered by Bitget's User Protection Fund, which holds over $464 million. Chen revealed that attackers compromised a critical backend system within Bitget's wallet infrastructure, spoofing transaction data to move funds. She also stated that private key compromise was ruled out, eliminating a more severe risk scenario.

Bitget is investigating the specific method used to gain access to the backend system and will release a full technical report once findings are confirmed. The affected assets included ETH, XRP, BNB, AVAX, USDT, USDC, and other tokens across multiple networks. Bitget contacted the foundations of the affected blockchain networks, and some confirmed freezing wallet addresses linked to the attackers.

Chen suggested the attackers' methods were consistent with known North Korean hacking operations. Bitget is cooperating with a global investigation and has notified law enforcement agencies and on-chain security firms. The exchange is working to restore withdrawals and expects to provide a timeline once confirmed.